Other Voices: We're getting our competitive edge back

THE SEATTLE TIMES

Saturday

May 18, 2019 at 2:00 AM

The economic health of the country got a major boost recently when the U.S. Senate restored the Export-Import Bank of the United States to full operations. Now lawmakers need to finish their work by extending the bank’s charter another four years.

For more than 1,400 days, the Ex-Im Bank has been three members short of a quorum, preventing it from financing any deal over $10 million. Almost $40 billion worth of deals have been stymied, holding up an estimated 230,000 jobs. A bipartisan group in the Senate finally fixed that by confirming Kimberly Reed as president of the bank along with two other members.

The bank was created during the Great Depression and plays a vital role in facilitating the export of U.S. goods and services, which in turn creates jobs here. For example, it provides loan guarantees and credit insurance to American companies as well as loans to international buyers of American goods. The bank is an independent, self-financing federal agency that costs taxpayers nothing.

Other countries have their own versions of export-import banks. While America’s was shut down, businesses in those nations had a competitive advantage.

The bank’s restoration could be short-lived, though. Its charter is scheduled to expire in September.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and President Donald Trump both supported the recent quorum-restoring vote. We will need their help again. If Trump and Republicans want to boost the economy, they’ll reach across the aisle again in order to renew the charter for years to come.

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